HONG KONG (November 17, 2015) – Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), operator of the largest bouquet of pan-Asian channels dedicated to Asian entertainment, Viva Communications, Inc., the content creation and distribution arm of an integrated entertainment company in the Philippines and Cignal TV, Philippines’ premier DTH satellite provider, jointly announced today their partnership to launch Celestial Movies Pinoy (CM Pinoy) in the Philippines. CM Pinoy will be the first fully localized Chinese movie channel in the Philippines. The channel will launch exclusively on Cignal TV in its basic tier, reaching over 1 million subscribers. CM Pinoy will debut in January 2016.
“We are very excited to partner with Viva Communications and Cignal TV to launch Celestial Movies Pinoy,” said Ofanny Choi, Executive Vice President, TV Networks, Celestial Tiger Entertainment. “The combination of our unparalleled Chinese blockbusters and programming experience, Viva’s local expertise, and Cignal TV’s extensive coverage will make Celestial Movies Pinoy a premier TV destination in the Philippines.”
“Filipinos, in general, love movies and are now beginning to appreciate Asian productions and actors. Tagalog dubbed content is much easier to understand and enjoy which will expand its appeal to a much wider audience. Together with Celestial Tiger Entertainment, a regional powerhouse in content, and Cignal TV, a prime mover in content delivery, Viva is equally excited to make this a reality,” said Vicente del Rosario Jr., Chairman and CEO of Viva Communications.
“As part of our commitment in delivering quality and awesome content to our subscribers nationwide, Cignal TV is excited to exclusively distribute CM Pinoy, a movie channel that brings the world’s most extensive collection of Chinese movies in the language that our Filipino audience will understand. We are doubly proud of our engagement with Asia’s media stalwarts, Celestial Tiger Entertainment and Viva Communications, whose achievements still continue to inspire and move our industry,”
shared Oscar A. Reyes Jr., Chief Operating Officer of Cignal TV.
CM Pinoy will be fully “Tagalized”. The movies and on-air presentation will be dubbed in a mixture of Tagalog and English. The channel will offer some of the biggest Chinese blockbusters featuring the biggest Chinese stars such as Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, Jet Li, Andy Lau and Donnie Yen. CM Pinoy will launch with the latest hits such as Lady of the Dynasty, an epic drama featuring superstar Fan Bingbing; Little Big Master, the highest-grossing Chinese film in Hong Kong of 2015; and Paris Holiday, a romantic drama starring Hong Kong star Louis Koo and Taiwanese starlet Kuo Tsai Chieh.
Besides the latest blockbusters, CM Pinoy will showcase all-time favorites such as Jackie Chan’s iconic hits New Police Story, Rob-B-Hood, The Medallion and The Myth. CM Pinoy will also feature special thematic programming each month centered around superstars or popular genres. Beyond movies, CM Pinoy will present behind-the-scenes movie specials and interviews with Chinese stars and directors.
Celestial Movies is CTE’s flagship Chinese movie channel in Southeast Asia. With its exclusive output deals with the top Hong Kong movie studios, Celestial Movies dominates its core markets. In Malaysia, Celestial Movies, Celestial Movies HD and Celestial Classic Movies are the top three most-watched regional movie channels among Astro’s Chinese 4+ subscribers in 2015*. In Indonesia, Celestial Movies remains one of the top three regional movie channels in terms of reach among the pay TV audience**.
Cignal TV also carries CTE’s KIX HD and Thrill channels. For more information, please visit http://www.cignal.tv/.
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*Source: Nielsen Malaysia
Jan-Oct, 2015, Astro Chinese 4+, ranked by average audience of individual channel basis, across regional movie channels on Astro (Celestial Classic Movies, Celestial Movies, Celestial Movies HD, Cinemax, Fox Action Movies HD, Fox Family Movies HD, Fox Movies Premium, Fox Movies Premium HD ,HBO, HBO HD and Sundance HD)
**Source: Nielsen Indonesia Pay TV
Jan-Oct, 2015, Pay TV 5+, ranked by average daily reach and across regional movie channels (AMC, Celestial Movies, Cinemax, Fox Family Movies, Fox Movies Premium, HBO, HBO Family Movies, HBO Hits, HBO Signature)
Media Contact:
Pauline Poon
Celestial Tiger Entertainment
T: 852 2239 6131
E: pauline.poon@celestialtiger.com
About Celestial Tiger Entertainment
CELESTIAL TIGER ENTERTAINMENT (CTE) is a leading independent media company dedicated to entertaining audiences in Asia and beyond. The company creates and distributes branded pay television channels and services targeted at Asian consumers.
CTE operates a powerful bouquet of distinct pay television services including: CELESTIAL MOVIES, the premier 24-hour first-run Chinese movie channel in Asia and beyond; CELESTIAL CLASSIC MOVIES, the world’s most-widely distributed Chinese movie channel with an unparalleled array of Chinese movie masterpieces; cHK, a general entertainment channel offering cool, chic, and contemporary celebrity-powered Hong Kong entertainment; KIX, the ultimate destination for action entertainment; MIAO MI, the first Mandarin “edu-tainment” channel created specifically for kids across Asia; and THRILL, Asia’s only regional horror, thriller and suspense movie channel. All of CTE’s channel brands are available as linear, on-demand and over-the-top services. CTE also produces original production for its bouquet of channels.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, CTE’s majority shareholders are Saban Capital Group, a leading private investment firm specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries; Celestial Pictures, a diversified Asian entertainment company owned by Astro Overseas Limited; and Lionsgate, the world’s largest independent filmed entertainment studio.
For more information, please visit www.celestialtiger.com.
About Viva
Viva is a synergized multi-platform entertainment company with 360° synergized business units that complement and support each other. Apart from being a large independent content provider of feature films and TV shows, Viva has its own pay TV channels, artist agency, music recording, live concerts and events, radio stations, digital media, out-of-home advertising and publishing.
With over 30 years in film, Viva has produced iconic movies that launched careers and defined pop culture. Viva has built a considerable library of content that spans several decades of classic films, current blockbusters and original programs produced specifically for TV. Over 2,500 hours of content in the Viva library became the heart of the movie channel — PBO (Pinoy Box Office) and general entertainment – Viva Channel. Viva is the partner of Viacom in the Philippines and produces the localized MTV Pinoy. Viva is also the distributor and ad sales agent for History, CI, FYI, Lifetime, Comedy Central and RTL-CBS.
Some of the biggest stars in the entertainment industry as well as top athletes, hosts and influential bloggers are represented by Viva’s Artist Management company. The roster, however, is not limited to on-camera talents but extends to the creative minds behind it as directors, screenwriters, editors, musicians, hair and make-up artists and stylists are all being managed by Viva.
Synergy is the key philosophy behind the Viva group of companies. Horizontally and vertically aligned business units complement and maximize the core businesses, which enables us to capitalize on our strengths and produce greater content for the world.
About Cignal
Cignal is the Philippine’s premier DTH satellite provider. Launched in 2009, Cignal broadcasts to households and commercial venues nationwide using DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) technology. Cignal transmits 102 channels to date, which includes free-to-air, SD, and HD. It also offers on-demand service through its pay-per-view channel, and a varied mix of 12 audio channels. Cignal is owned and operated by
Cignal TV Inc., a subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, the media partner of the PLDT Group of Companies.
As the media investment arm of the PLDT Group of Companies, MediaQuest is building new sources of revenue while developing media services to enhance and further strengthen the product offerings of the PLDT Group as a whole. It is also emerging as an innovator in the developing new media industry in the Philippines.